World Snooker Championship betting tips: Round one selections based on statistical form guide

By James Cooper

Snooker

Tue April 19, 2022 · 3y ago

Snooker data analyst James Cooper has found three betting opportunities ahead of the first round of the World Championship, which begins on Saturday.

World Snooker Championship: Round one tips

2pts Jamie Jones +4.5 frames at 8/11 (Coral, Ladbrokes)

1pt John Higgins -3.5 frames at 10/11 (William Hill)

1pt Scott Donaldson to beat Mark Allen at 11/4 (bet365)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Another handicap bet I like (previous tips and analysis below) the look of comes in the John Higgins against Thepchaiya Un-Nooh clash and I can see this being one-way traffic if the Wizard of Wishaw plays to his usual high standards.

Un-Nooh has always been very pleasing on the eye but it has to be said he has endured a rotten time of things in recent times and his tour status was very much on the line going into last week’s qualifiers.

With that weight lifted of his shoulders he may relax and see this clash as something of a free hit and there is no doubt he is a daunting player to take on at his best given the speed in which he rattles off frames.

The problem is, Un-Nooh clearly hasn’t been doing that regularly enough and on my numbers, he is a 5/1 underdog with me to cause an upset in this and around 11/8 to reach seven frames. With Higgins 8/11 to cover the handicap, the 10/11 available is worth snapping up.

World Snooker Championship outright betting preview

CLICK HERE TO READ OUR FULL TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The Mark Selby conundrum has already been discussed several times in Sporting Life articles this week and in truth, it’s hard to know what shape the four-time Champion will turn up in.

One thing is for certain is that he won’t be found wanting for bottle or desire but the handicap price on offer assumes the Jester is arriving pretty much at the peak of his powers against a quality opponent in Jamie Jones.

Jamie is the fourth-best qualifier according to my numbers and with a fairly cautious view taken on Selby’s rating, I have this best-of-19 match as a 0.79 v 0.21 contest (so around 1/4 v 4/1).

The opening-show value in Jones +4.5 at 5/6 was pretty substantial as I make the Welshman 8/13 to amass at least six frames and while that price has now disappeared, the 8/11 available is still attractive enough.

Neal Foulds' World Championship top-16 verdict

Ronnie O'Sullivan won his sixth world title at the Crucible

CLICK HERE TO READ PROFILES OF THE WORLD'S TOP 16

My idea of the best-value match bet is Scott Donaldson at 11/4 to upset Mark Allen given the Northern Irishman hasn’t been an easy player to predict in recent times.

Off-field issues are seemingly improving for Allen and a Home Nations win in Belfast means it’s a productive campaign regardless but for a player of his status, his Crucible record is modest.

Every player loses the odd match against inferior opposition but defeats (in admittedly shorter matches) to Jak Jones, Sunny Akani and Martin O’Donnell this term, all lower ranked with me than Scott Donaldson, raises a question or two.

This is a 4/9 v 9/4 contest with me and it’s surely no bad thing Donaldson expended relatively little energy to book his place in the final 32 with his 6-5 win over Li Hang flanked by 6-0 and 10-1 hammerings of Robbie McGuigan and Allan Taylor respectively.

World Snooker Championship 2022: Draw and tournament bracket

Mark Selby (1) v Jamie Jones
Yan Bingtao (16) v Chris Wakelin
Barry Hawkins (9) v Jackson Page
Mark Williams (8) v Michael White
Kyren Wilson (5) v Ding Junhui
Stuart Bingham (12) v Lyu Haotian
Anthony McGill (13) v Liam Highfield
Judd Trump (4) v Hossein Vafaei
Neil Robertson (3) v Ashley Hugill
Jack Lisowski (14) v Mathew Stevens
Luca Brecel (11) v Noppon Saengkham
John Higgins (6) v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Zhao Xintong (7) v Jamie Clarke
Shaun Murphy (10) v Stephen Maguire
Mark Allen (15) v Scott Donaldson
Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) v David Gilbert

CLICK HERE FOR FULL DAILY SCHEDULE

Published at 1430 BST on 14/04/22

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